§ 29. Mr. BurnettWhat discussions he has had with ministerial colleagues about the proposals to bring the justice functions of Departments which are at present separate under a single Ministry. [17694]
§ The Attorney-General (Mr. John Morris)I frequently discuss with colleagues possible ways of improving efficiency in the administration of justice. The Government have no plans to create a single Ministry of justice.
§ Mr. BurnettDuring those discussions, I hope that the right hon. and learned Gentleman will be mindful of Sir Peter Middleton's recent report on the reform of legal aid and civil justice, which says:
A single Government Department should be responsible for all aspects of civil justice.
§ The Attorney-GeneralSir Peter Middleton confined himself solely to civil justice. The Lord Chancellor has responsibility for procedures in civil courts and their administration, so that is a matter for his Department. Sir Peter may have been casting his mind over a wider area and may have thought of tribunals and similar matters, which are without the Lord Chancellor's Department. We have no such proposals at present.
§ Sir Nicholas LyellWill the right hon. and learned Gentleman make clear what is happening in his Department, let alone any other justice Departments, in relation to the Crown Prosecution Service? Does he accept that it is in a thorough mess, following the U-turn that he announced last week on the appointment of the 42 Crown prosecutors—one for each police region? Does he accept that he was hasty in ordering the Director of Public Prosecutions to implement that at the same time as setting up Sir lain Glidewell's inquiry? He has had to back-track on the policy on Sir lain's advice. Will he clarify what is happening, when he expects action to be taken and what regard he intends to have to Sir Iain's report? Will he publish the correspondence between him, the DPP and Sir Iain, or put it in the Library?
§ The Attorney-GeneralI will certainly put in the Library the letter from Sir kin Glidewell, which went to every senior member who had applied for one of the new posts in the CPS.
The mess was created, I regret to have to say, by the right hon. and learned Member for North-East Bedfordshire (Sir N. Lyell) himself and those acting under his stewardship. It eventually emerged under Sir lain's interim conclusions that he realised that for the job to be carried out properly and to ensure that the mess that we inherited was dealt with adequately, more important and greater figures were needed in each of the 42 areas than had been envisaged when we took office.
The problem is the magnitude of the task, the need to devolve, and the need to ensure that each of the 42 areas has a figure comparable with a chief constable so that the public know who is in charge of prosecutions locally. It is entirely due to the situation that we inherited.